Web update: Cellco cell tower proposal

Cellco represenatives met with the Zoning Board Wednesday night regarding a proposed cell tower on the Peterson’s Nursery property.

By: Lea Kahn
   A radio frequency expert hired by the Cellco Partnership told the Zoning Board of Adjustment that unless an additional cell tower is built on the Peterson’s Nursery property on Route 206, cell phone users will continue to experience poor quality service.
   Dominic Villecco, a principal in V-COMM, LLC, testified before the zoning board Wednesday night in the second of a series of public hearings on the Cellco Partnership’s request for a use variance to build a cell tower on the Peterson’s Nursery property.
   The application calls for a 140-foot tower on the 7.5-acre property at the corner of Route 206 and Province Line Road. A use variance is needed because cell towers are not permitted in residential zones. The Peterson property is in the Environmental Protection-1 zone, a residential zone.
   The cell tower would host antennas belonging to the Cellco Partnership, which does business as Verizon Wireless, plus Sprint-Nextel and Cingular-AT&T. If the tower is approved, T-Mobile also may place antennas on the tower.
   In his testimony Wednesday night, Mr. Villecco told the zoners that call failures for Verizon Wireless users average 3 percent of all calls in the vicinity of the Peterson’s Nursery property. A failed call means a call has been dropped or blocked. The general industry standard for failed calls is in the 1- to 2-percent range, he said.
   Putting up a tower on the Peterson’s Nursery property would help cut down on the number of failed calls, Mr. Villecco said. The Peterson’s site is mid-way between Verizon’s existing antennas on the Princeton Township Municipal Building on Witherspoon Street and existing antennas on The Lawrenceville School campus, he said.
   "This site is particularly well-suited because it is in the center (between the two existing towers) and it would help us fill a portion of significant gaps (in coverage) and it would the users," Mr. Villecco said.
   The Zoning Board of Adjustment will continue its public hearing on the Cellco Partnership application at a special meeting April 25. Mr. Villecco is expected to present testimony on the need for the tower on behalf of Sprint-Nextel and Cingular-AT&T.